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The Munsters

Topics: The Munsters, Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis, Beverly Owen, Pat Priest, Butch Patrick

The Munsters is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters starring Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein-type head-of-the-household Herman Munster, Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster, Al Lewis as Grandpa and Beverly Owen (later re-placed by Pat Priest) as their teenage niece, Butch Patrick as son Eddie Munster, and The Raven, voiced by Mel Blanc and Bob Hastings. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and the wholesome family fare of the era.
The Munsters live at 1313 Mockingbird Lane in the city of Mockingbird Heights, a fictional suburb in California. The running gag of the series is that the family, while decidedly odd, consider themselves fairly typical working-class people of the era. Herman, like many husbands of the 1960s, is the sole wage-earner in the family, though Lily and Grandpa make (short-lived) attempts to earn money from time to time. While Herman is the head of household, Lily makes many decisions, too. According to the episode in which Lily and Herman Munster were trying to surprise one another for their anniversary, they were married in 1865. Despite the novel approach of the family's being (mostly) supernatural creatures (except for niece Marilyn, who is "normal"), the show followed the typical family sitcom formula of the era—the well-meaning father, the nurturing mother, the eccentric live-in relative, the naïve teenager and the precocious kid.

The costumes and appearances of the family members other than Marilyn were based on the classic monsters of Universal Studios films from the 1930s and 1940s. Universal produced The Munsters as well and was thus able to use these copyrighted designs, including their iconic version of Frankenstein's monster for Herman. Other studios were free to make films with the Frankenstein creature, for example, but could not use the costume and style of make-up originally created by Jack Pierce for the 1931 Universal Studios film Frankenstein. The make-up for the show was created and applied to the actors by Bud Westmore, who pioneered many make-up effects and designs for many of the Universal monster movies.

Addeddate: 2017-03-28 19:19:45

Identifier: The_Munsters

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Reviews

Reviewer: Vintage Retro Flashback - - April 17, 2023
Subject: Totally Dig It

One of my favorites as a kid in the 60s.

Reviewer: walk on top - - March 10, 2023
Subject: Most enjoyable show

Seems like a typical average family!!
That show was on a long time ago!

Reviewer: wizard-of-aaahhs - - February 15, 2023
Subject: Where'd they go

Every episode from all 6 years used to be here. What happened to them?

Reviewer: Antoine van de Kaa - - January 13, 2023
Subject: How hurmen look

If he something hit and it fly away I die in side from laughter on the way how he keep looking to it what fly away

Reviewer: 30smovies - - December 17, 2021
Subject: One of My All Time Favorites

I still watch this show often on tv even though I have been watching for many decades. Does anyone have the 80s reboot The Munsters Today? I know it's not supposed to be good but it would be interesting to see it.

Reviewer: Terrompo - - March 23, 2021
Subject: millon de gracias

en mi corazon tambien seguiran ,,son recuerdos, de lo que estamos hechos..

Reviewer: sammyk1964 - - November 1, 2020
Subject: BEST FAMILY EVER

If you're like me, and you grew up during this time, you'll remember that there was always two main arguments nationwide.
1 - Best musical group - "The Jackson 5" or "The Osmonds"
2 - Best TV monster family - "The Addams Family" or "The Munsters"
Well, I would have moved in with the Munsters anytime! They only ran for 2 seasons, but they live forever in my heart! No matter how much makeup they tried to use to uglify her, Yvonne De Carlo's beauty shined through!
And, episode 00 DID air, but failed miserably! It took another year & mostly new cast before they got it right. And, although it had become more expensive to film in B&W at this time, they decided it was best for the show! And,, IT WORKED!

Reviewer: gabinthal - - July 23, 2020
Subject: Greatest show since the Addams family

This show is full of clean humor and old fashioned values. Depictions of, chivalry, kindness, family loyalty, childhood guidance, and respect for everything and everyone.

Reviewer: Reynard Muldrake - - November 8, 2019
Subject: A Spooky Good Time

What a happy surprise to find this. Such a fun show-- the excellent set and props and lighting, the cast, the makeup and costumes, the physical comedy. I deeply appreciate these shows being available here. ❤️🦇

Reviewer: imnotfriendly - - September 14, 2018
Subject: Every episode

Thanks so much to whoever shared this. Quality is good, considering how old these copies must be.

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10 Reviews